Ash Cooke (aka Pulco) and Stuart Kidd (formerly of BMX Bandits and now one half of The Wellgreen) were brought together by a shared passion for DIY recording, and an intriguing tale of riots, prison and rehabilitation.
It is said that they met when they incited a riot in a pound-store whereupon they were arrested and imprisoned for four months.
During this sentence they underwent music therapy to help them come to terms with the trouble caused by a youth full of low-budget recording equipment.
It is presumably fictitious, but it sets the tone nicely for what is an impressively made, low-budget album.
Sounding more like a collection of ideas than an actual coherent, single-themed album, Writing the Wrongs takes the listener through many styles.
It kicks off with ‘Bobby’s Basement’, an acoustically led story about writing songs about a friend’s sister; it has a charming feel and some clever lines, with an underlying buzz to it, hinting at the lo-fi nature that is prevalent on the album.
‘Green’ is mellow, mournful and meandering, with lilting strings and an uplifting chorus; it is followed by ‘The Snare Wire That Buzzed As I Shuffled My Feet’, an ode to the beauty of home-fi recordings, featuring nice lines such as: “well the rain hit the window and joined me on tape”.
The album features two spoken word tracks – ‘Roll Tape’ and ‘The History of Home-Fi’; these provide some commentary to explain the album, and the love Cooke and Kidd have for low-budget home recordings, especially the four-track recorder.
They are interesting on first listen, but after that serve only to break up the flow of the album; if you want to sit back and listen through all the songs, you have to be ready to hit the skip button when these arrive, as one listen is enough.
The origin of the name is vaguely explained on the one-and-a-half minute punk driven titular track; although a bit of a contrast to the rest of the songs, it’s a solid number, with a gritty and overdriven sound probably best encapsulating what home-fi is all about.
This album is collaboration between two experienced musicians, who are very adept at their craft; it is hugely enjoyable and interestingly recorded.
As the longest track, ‘Hapless Writer’, explains so readily and repeatedly: “I made this album by myself”; they certainly did, and to their great credit.
Who knows if this will be a one-off, or if Cooke and Kidd will incite further riots in the name of inspiring new music; let’s hope for the latter.
Words: Thomas Brent
